Sitting on his bed, legs crossed, Bethel stared at the holographic screen that announced the completion of his quest.
It had been an hour since he got the message, yet he still couldn't believe that he had finally completed a quest! One must know that Bethel had spent close to two years trying to complete the first quest, yet now he completed the quest he received yesterday within 24 hours!
"Truly my genius is boundless." He couldn't help the arrogant but completely true thought that flashed into his mind. His lips curled upwards in satisfaction.
If it were not for his slightly introverted personality, Bethel would have rushed throughout town laughing like a madman.
Releasing a breath, a smile still on his lips, Bethel stared at his journal.
Rank 9: Apprentice Principles:
-"One shouldn't flaunt one's superiority and be arrogant, and has to understand the insignificance of their own strength."
-"An apprentice lacks experience, so they must listen to those who have it. And, even the most skilled apprentices are inferior to a master."
-"An apprentice must know their weakness, their insignificance and they must work hard to clear themselves of this weakness."
Staring at them, he finally calmed down. These lines grounded him, just remembering them seemed to curb his excitement.
Finally he turned his attention back to the floating holographic screen.
Secret Quest: Uncover 3 Principles behind Apprentice! Complete!
Claim Rewards?
"Claim Rewards."
Suddenly a flash of light appeared before him which then turned into a cocoon of colourful lights, the cocoon flashed with silver, blue and purple.
The three colours then separated, floating in the air and slowly falling onto the bed. The remaining cocoon of light then contracted before also slowly falling down.
When their lights disappeared, Bethel stared at the four objects in front of him.
Three coins. And one ring.
Grabbing the first coin, he turned it around in his hand. One side had a fog engraved, the other had some kind of language that he had never seen, but thanks to the devil's ability to speak and understand any language, he could easily understand what it meant.
History.
[Coin of Yore
Charm
Ability: Flip the coin to summon a figure connected to you from the Historical Void by saying the word "History" in ancient Hermes.]
The moment he saw it, the words "Time travel" appeared in his mind.
Brows furrowed, eyes squinted, Bethel stared at the coin. What does it mean to summon a figure connected to you from the historical void, or a better question would be, what is the historical void?
He inwardly mumbled the word, History in the so-called Ancient Hermes. Hermes, the Greek messenger god.
Bethel was confused, and intrigued. It sounded strong, but he had no idea how it worked, nor when it would be useful. Especially since he had no idea how "a figure connected to you" would work.
Would it summon some random figure? Or can he control who he would get?
Placing it aside, he looked at the next coin. On one side there is a door made of countless stars and around that door there was a coiled serpent, and on the other side, written in ancient hermes, was the word "Wander".
[Coin of Fortunate Wandering
Charm
Ability: Flip the coin to summon a gate that will lead you to a place beneficial to you by saying the word "Wander" in ancient hermes.]
Ancient hermes again? He turned to look at the other coin.
[Coin of Deprivation
Charm
Ability: Flip the coin to temporarily steal the abilities of your target by saying the word "Theft" in ancient hermes.]
Ancient hermes… leaning back, Bethel's mind was churning.
Hermes, the Greek god of Travel, and theft… coincidentally, two coins have those specific abilities. He has no idea how the coin of yore relates to him, maybe Hermes can be considered the god of time traveling, considering that it was also a form of travelling.
Earth… looks like bethel gained an additional reason to return back to the human world, other than his desire for the blue sky. He would need to become stronger and travel to Greece, maybe he could find some answers to his questions.
He had no idea how Hermes was related to the system, but he did know that all mythologies exist simultaneously. Either he finds hermes, or find another pantheon's equivalent of hermes. Or maybe he could find a god.
Heh, he couldn't help but chuckle at the arrogant thoughts he was thinking, find a god? As if it would be easy to find one.
Even if Bethel were lucky to meet a god, could he actually converse with them? He recalled the legends and stories of the gods he read about and mortals who usually dealt with them never had happy lives.
That was especially true for the Greek ones.
Bethel could imagine what would happen.
"Yo Hermes, did you have something to do with the system?"
Hermes waves his hands, and Bethel explodes like a pinata.
Shuddering at the horrifying image his mind conjured, Bethel put meeting Hermes into the backseat. He was not suicidal, so he would not do something stupid like that.
In the end, all lead to the same answer. Strength! If he was stronger, all of his desires could be fulfilled.
His attention turned back towards the coins. Coin of fortunate wandering, Bethel was curious if he could use this to teleport to earth.
He knew little of teleportation, only a select few middle-class Devils knew the particular skill. Thus, he had no idea how it worked, Bethel would save it if he would ever end up in some kind of trouble that cannot escape from.
The coin of deprivation on the other hand, Bethel couldn't stop imagining how useful it was. The ability to steal others' powers… How terrifying. Again, it too was not something that he could use in peaceful times.
Though Bethel was disappointed its theft was not permanent, if it was he would be planning on how to steal himself a clan trait from those noble devils belonging to seventy-two pillars.
The fabled power of destruction of the Bael clan… the immortality of the Phenex clan… the control over time of the Agares clan…
Taking a deep breath, he calmed down his emotions and turned his attention to the final item.
The ring. It had a giant polished ruby, making one think of a crimson moon. Seeing it, Bethel couldn't help but feel curious on what this ring that perfectly matched his aesthetic could do.
[Mother's Favour
Grade 2 Sealed Artifact
Abilities: Can Transform into crimson moonlight to dodge attacks. Can concoct potions with various effects. Can tame beasts with inferior intelligence. Can summon a full moon that can heal all of your injuries. Reinforces the physique to the point you can ignore blades and bullets. Grants superior speed, enough to leave after images.
Downsides: You will gradually believe in the Great mother. You will desire to kill every Demon and Mutant you see. You will desire to procreate with vampires.]
"…"
Bethel blankly stared at the ring. Numerous emotions had appeared on his face. The abilities of the ring were amazing, no better than amazing. As long as had it, Bethel could instantly gain the strength of a mid-class Devil!
The downsides, honestly he doesn't care about believing in the great mother, that is a pretty amazing deal.
Even the procreating with vampires was fine, hopefully they were as good looking as the vampires from different fictions.
Ultimately, it was the second downside that stopped him. Desire to kill demons and mutants… will he commit suicide the moment he wears it? He turned away from the ring.
He had no desire to try out. He did not want to die, at all. Sighing, he grabbed a small takeout box and placed the ring inside and tossed it inside the closet.
Bethel will deal with it another time. His mood soured with the incredibly powerful artifact. It was in the same room, but never used unless he gets sick of living.
…
It was a dark place. Plains of blue grass seemed to stretch endlessly and the sky rippled like water, countless shades of blue converging and aggregating together.
Within that maddening blue sky tiny specks of crimson pulsed, like a heart beating. With each pulse, it would slowly become brighter and larger.
In a world of blue, the specks of red were like disgusting invaders trying to dirty its surroundings.
On a conspicuous table under the shade of a giant tree, a large leatherbound book's pages were flipping as if an invisible reader was leafing through it.
"...The Mother Goddess and Mother tree are adversaries. Both desire to become the sole aspect of femininity in existence, thus they are enemies. Demons and Mutants fall under the domain of the mother tree, while vampires fall under the domain of the mother goddess…"
"...artiacts blessed by the mother goddess would harbour negativity towards devils and mutants. Vice versa, items blessed by the mother tree would harbour negativity towards vampires…"
"...Devils and Mutants have an innate aversion to items blessed by the mother goddess, it is not a biological or spiritual aversion but a conceptual one…"
"...Devils and Mutants who are blessed by the mother tree will desire to either kill, copulate or convert the vampires who are blessed by the Mother Goddess…"
"...though the influence of the mother tree and mother goddess is deadly, through certain measures one can reduce their influence…"
"... The instinct to survive, it is the most primal instinct that exists in every living being, utilising this instinct is the most efficient method…"
The book flipped over to its cover. On it, written in ancient yet mysterious language shone with golden light. The unknown, yet ancient language translated to:
Guide on freeing oneself from the Corruption of Outer Deities.
…
Seated on the roof of his house, Bethel had hugged his knees as he gazed at the pale moon. Honestly, he couldn't stay a single second more there, it was his own personal hell.
To have an item that could give him power be in the same room as him, yet be unable to use it. Bethel clicked his tongue.
If it not for his survival instincts of not wanting to die, Bethel would have said fuck it and wore the ring.
Forcefully tearing his mind off the ring, Bethel pondered on some information he gained on the system.
The first piece of information he gained insight on was its nature, or rather Bethel may have gotten a key to its origin.
Ancient Hermes, seemingly a language. Has some unknown connection to Hermes, Greek god of Travel and Theft. If one were to squint, Bethel's own powers might be related to Hermes.
Door opening could be considered an application of travel. After all, one cannot travel if they can't open a door.
Thieving brooch, though it only empowers his fingers and wrists, both its name and negative effects point towards theft.
Without a doubt, Hermes must have some relation to the system. Luckily, gods are real and he might gain an opportunity to get the answers from him. Maybe.
The second piece of information was the grades, or ranks.
His own rank started from Rank 9. Reasonably, his next rank should be rank 8 and ultimately rank 1. The sealed artifacts, he has no idea where it starts from, but considering his first was Grade 4 Bethel would consider it the start.
So, if Grade 4 was the start, and considering that he gained a grade 2 which was obviously stronger than it, the sealed artifact grades were also in descending order.
Truthfully, it is quite strange. Especially the numbers themselves, Rank 9 and Grade 4. Why rank 9 and Grade 4? Why not start from rank 10 and Grade 5?
After some thinking Bethel might have come to a conclusion. If he wasn't misremembering, in Chinese culture the number 9 seemed to have some special significance. He had no idea what it was, but he knew it was there.
Four, it is also a significant number in eastern culture. Instantly his mind thought of the four Guardian beasts; Black Tortoise, Vermillion Phoenix, White Tiger and Azure Dragon.
Bethel released a sigh, it was filled with confusion and exhaustion.
This system seems to have connection to both the east and west… the system might have been created by multiple gods. Hermes should be one of them.
The answers to why were left unanswered. If gods created this system, why give it to him? Or was it an accident?
And if it was an accident that he gained this system, will they come looking for it?
Taking a deep breath, Bethel resolutely stared at town from atop his roof. He could see devils walking and flying around.
No matter the problems, he would deal with it. Only a little time left, when the two year mark has reached he can finally advance into the next rank.
"Hopefully the next advancement quest won't be as time-consuming as this one."
A moment of silence passed, his eyes narrowed in thought for a while before it relaxed and he lay down on the roof.
"I came, I saw, I…" Bethel mumbled to himself, he did not know what the last word was. But he felt as if he had once repeated this phrase numerous times, and it gave him a psychological comfort.
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Patreon for chapters 6, 7, and 8. Also, Chapter 9 will be posted there tonight or tomorrow.